Barca retaliates against Bilbao over Williams deal.

Barcelona president Joan Laporta has reacted strongly to Athletic Club's actions regarding the transfer of Nico Williams.

For Barcelona, ​​Nico Williams is becoming the hottest topic of summer 2025.

In a press conference with El Mundo , Laporta expressed his disappointment with Athletic Club's reaction. He insisted that the relationship between the two clubs had not deteriorated, despite some misunderstandings in recent years.

“The relationship between Barcelona and Athletic remains good. In the last few years, there have been some misunderstandings and incidents, but I don’t think that means the relationship between the two clubs has deteriorated,” Laporta said.

However, the Barca president did not hide his displeasure that Athletic Club intended to interfere in the Williams deal by filing a complaint with La Liga. “I don’t understand why Athletic would talk about Barcelona to La Liga. I think it’s inappropriate, but they know what they’re doing,” Laporta emphasized.

Barcelona are working to sign Williams. According to Mundo Deportivo , the reigning La Liga champions have reached a personal agreement with the Euro 2024 winner and are expected to activate his €62 million release clause next week to complete the deal.

However, Athletic Club was not easily going to accept losing a talent they had nurtured themselves. The Basque club planned to take the matter to La Liga, accusing Barcelona of violating Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules and lacking sufficient funds to complete the transfer. This move escalated tensions between the two clubs, forcing president Joan Laporta to speak out.

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Source: https://znews.vn/barca-dap-tra-bilbao-vi-vu-williams-post1563723.html